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Copyright © Nagai Go · Ishikawa Ken /
Dynamic Planning / New Getter Robo Production Committee
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—by Keith Rhee
As a fan of retro mecha shows, I had high hopes for CHANGE! GETTER ROBO,
especially since GIANT ROBO's Imagawa was to direct the remake of the Nagai
Go classic. Regrettably, Imagawa had to leave the production of the show
early on. But the first episode looked impressive and the story held a lot
of promise, so I crossed my fingers and hoped that the series would keep
up. Unfortunately, volume 3 of CHANGE! GETTER ROBO turned out to be a
disappointment.
Before I go on, here's a quick recap. Volumes 1 and 2 dealt with the return
of the invaders (presumed vanquished by the Getter Robo team), the return
of Dr. Saotome (presumed murdered by the Getter 1 pilot), the emergence of
a new Getter Robo (no explanation for this one); and the destruction of
Earth at the hands of Dr. Kouen and Dr. Stenger (previously assumed to be
allies of the United Forces).
Volume 3 begins the second arc of the story. It is 13 years after the
nuclear explosion turned the world into a desolate wasteland, and the
surviving humans are waging a desperate, if ineffective, struggle against
the alien intruders. Though many of the surviving nations have super robots
of their own, they seem remarkably ineffective against the invaders (i.e.
cannon fodder). And when the new Getter Robo reappears to lend a hand, a
band of Americans attempt to destroy the Japanese robot as punishment,
since the whole mess that ended in the apocalypse started in Japan. The
episode pretty much degenerates into the American and Japanese characters
squabbling and the United Forces robots getting their collective arse
kicked, with only a short sortie by the Getter Robo to fend off the
invaders temporarily.
Several of the characters from the previous installment have either
perished or vanished and are replaced by new ones, including Musashi's
daughter Kei. While Kei's bright and optimistic character makes her mildly
interesting, the show doesn't seem to be going anywhere with the mysterious
Kou, who usually just stands there with a vacant stare and says very
little. The rest are mostly extras with little or nothing to offer...
All in all, the quality of volume 3 isn't up to par with the earlier
episodes—in fact, it has dropped quite a bit. It seems that the
production team was either rushed or had to deal with a lower budget, as
the character and mecha line art are a tad rough and inconsistent. The
story doesn't seem to be going anywhere, and the dialog is rather
unremarkable.
It's really too bad that Imagawa's not at the helm anymore. While the
CHANGE! GETTER ROBO volumes are being released in a timely
fashion, it almost seems as if the episodes are being rushed for the sake of
staying on schedule. GIANT ROBO may
have had an insane release schedule, but it was worth waiting many years
for that Imagawa magic touch! In the end, one can only hope that both the
story and animation quality will pick up with subsequent episodes, or else
viewers may simply decide to give up on this
title... 
Bandai Emotion
1 LD, CLV, 50 minutes
BELL 1135
¥5800
Available now in Japan
Where to buy |
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